Thanks One-Legged Bill

Even when the pessimistic side of you is sure it will never work out and that most likely you’ll end up dead in a ditch before anything good happens things seem to sort out in a most unexpected way.

They never teach you this in journalism school, but this job has a way of sucking the life out of you.

The past few weeks, I’ve found myself unhappy, depressed and negative about … well, everything.

Which, honestly, is not me – it’s not who I am or who I want to be.

Last night, God convicted me of the way I’ve been acting and feeling. He has such a way of showing me that despite all the terrible things going on in my life He has a plan, a purpose and it all works for His glory.

I guess I just forgot that for a minute.

Friday afternoon I got called into my editor’s office and the Negative Nancy in me thought, Great, what did I do wrong this time? He sat me down and instead asked if I would be interested in going to Washington D.C. for a story. Umm, YEAH!

Although even then I thought that most likely something will come up, someone else will somehow get to do it and I’d be disappointed once again. Like I said, I was not looking up at life.

Then this morning we got a call about a man who was on his way home after some locals decided to do good for someone else.

He was crippled in an accident a few months back, left with only one leg and stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He ended up homeless and broke in Tallahassee with no way home – which happened to be Iowa.

After months of sitting around, Bill decided he was going to get home one way or another. He made it nearly 150 miles in two days from Tallahassee to Destin in his wheelchair when a local man decided to pull over and help.

I talked with the man and asked why he pulled over. Honestly, I drive by homeless people all the time and the only thing I do is check to make sure my doors are locked.

But this man said simply that since he became sober eight years ago he has been doing a good deed for someone he doesn’t know everyday.

His good deed for that day was to give Bill a ride to a nearby hotel and pay for him to stay the night. As he told the hotel staff Bill’s story they too wanted to help. Long story short, the staff and friends of friends paid for a ticket to get Bill home to Iowa.

I realize that while life has its tough times, its cry in the bathroom times and its “I want to quit life” times, there are also beautiful moments where you see compassion, love and tenderness.